


Freedom

by orphan_account, RougemageNick



Series: Just a RWBY OS full of OCs... [24]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-01-12
Packaged: 2018-03-07 04:38:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3161522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RougemageNick/pseuds/RougemageNick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xellos has escaped, and Team JNAS has been put back even farther than square one...With no idea as to his plan, and all of their possible clues having been seized by the government, they have nothing to do but wait patiently. But hopefully the upcoming dance will go uninterrupted...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> NOT FINISHED!!! I WILL BE ADDING MORE!!! IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE ARTWORK, SEE THE NOTES BELOW.

Freedom:

The doors of the prison facility were thrown wide open by Jay's foot as team JNAS marched into the prison. The lady behind the counter from before immediately stood, scrambling to grab her scroll to alert General Ironwood of their arrival. Jay didn't pay her any attention though as he walked to the door to the left of the counter.

"S-sir, you can't go back there with your weapons...Sir...Sir!!" she tried to get Jay's attention and failed as he whipped out his tonfas, slamming the claws at the end of them into the door and immediately ripping it from it's frame with an annoyed grunt and tossing it behind him. Nick ducked the door and looked back to see General Ironwood himself on the other side of the door frame.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked, glaring down at Jay.

Jay sheathed his tonfas, glaring back, "What the fucking fuck happened." he demanded immediately.

"What happened to your politeness from the previous visit?..." he asked, without acknowledging Jay's question.

"It left with Xellos, now show me what happened." he commanded again, pushing past Ironwood. The guards on the inside of the room stood immediately raised their guns and fired, as they'd been ordered too in such situations. But not a single shot found it's mark as Jay made his way to the other side of the room, as if ignoring that he was even being attacked.

"STAND DOWN, STOP SHOOTING." Ironwood commanded. All of the men reluctantly stopped, looking around at eachother and to Ironwood. He and the rest of team JNAS crossed to the other side of the room. "Do you honestly think you can just barge in here, armed, and demand to know what happened to a high profile prisoner?" he asked incredulously. Jay didn't look phased by Ironwood's demeanor or size over him.

"Yes. I do. Do  **you**  honestly think that you, or any of your incompetent guards here can stop us from getting our answers?" he asked, matching Ironwood's gaze and crossing his arms. The rest of the team stood there for a few seconds before Jay glanced at them and nodded his head, at which point, Anna's ears twitched and she realized what he meant. She cleared her throat and gestured them to follow as they all went to stand in a half circle around Ironwood, standing side by side with eachother.

Ironwood's eyes narrowed, but his glare softened a bit. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hand, pulling out his scroll and typing up the access code onto the display for the door to open. The two armed guards inside, having heard the commotion, stood crouching with their guns pointed at the team who stood outside the door. Ironwood nodded to them to stand down as he entered the elevator, followed by team JNAS.

"So...How'd he escape?" Sasha asked.

"He used his semblance to fight his way out...He stole a bullhead and made it all the way into the Forever Fall, where he crashed intentionally and escaped into the forest..." he explained.

"His sem- wait a minute, didn't we give you guys that suppressant? You were able to synthesize more, right? You didn't use that?" she continued.

"Of course we were...But that suppressant was hard to make successfully...We weren't able to completely replicate it...We used what we could make though, but evidently it wasn't as effective as the original suppressant, because it stopped working...Either that or he developed an immunity..." Ironwood answered.

"Well he worked with the original maker of the suppressant...Maybe he was able to tell it wasn't the same and consciously worked up an immunity to it..." Nick said, shrugging. He glanced a Jay, who wasn't speaking, and instead looked intently ahead.

After a few moments, he had a thought, "So...Did he leave anything behind?" Nick asked. Jay's eyes widened a bit and he glanced back at Nick, which he noticed.

"We're not sure...We haven't finished searching either, the wreckage or the crash site...We haven't gotten the chance to search the crash site anyway, on account of a dangerous number of Grimm in that area..." he answered. The elevator sputtered and almost struggled to open before they walked out into the hallway. At the end of the hallway, the door had been violently torn apart and thrown back into the room. They walked down the hallway, scarred with scorch marks on the walls from dust guns and bullet marks. Sparks flew from the wires that controlled the door at the end of the hallway. The jaw of every member of the team dropped as they walked into the room...

The walls were covered in black scrapes and burns from explosions and gunshots. The pillar interface at the center of the room was slashed and destroyed, showering sparks and flashing occasionally. Blood stains covered the deep divotted pillar and the keyboards at the base. The rails were mangled, crushed, and torn off. The door that lead to the cells was torn up, cut into pieces, and littered the ground around the room...

"Is all that...Xellos' blood?" Sasha muttered under her breath.

Ironwood shook his head, "He didn't lose a single drop...That armor repelled all attacks..." he answered her.

"Doped up on neural and semblance suppressants and he single handedly destroyed every obstacle between him and freedom in a high security prison facility...Stole a bullhead...And made it as far as the Forever Fall before making off into the forest...Evading every man or woman that followed..." Nick said to himself, shaking his head at the carnage. Anna and Jay had walked down the hallway of the cells, which was now almost pitch black after the lights were destroyed, and was covered in scattered and torn machine parts from the new line of Elysium Knights.

"Some quality..." Jay muttered facetiously.

Anna stopped and picked up one of the broken off arms, looking over the spot where it was severed from the body. "So if the room was carbon filtered...What did he use?...I mean...He couldn't possibly use his own skin or bone, right? That's not pure carbon...And wouldn't it have electrocuted him?" she wondered aloud as she looked the machine over, then tossing it aside and walking over ahead of Jay. Her jaw dropped, as did Jay's when the came to Xellos' cell. The whole entire wall, door included, had been viciously torn away and was bent in half, part of it covering up one of the doors at the end of the hall, and another half covering a branching hallway that led to different cells in the facility. Curved spikes of metal jutted out from the corners and sides of the wall where the decimated remains of Xellos' cell used to be.

"No...He could have used skin and bone...It's probably how he overcame the neural suppressant anyway...Controlled his own movements by bending the carbon in his bones...Control the support pillars, control the temple..." Jay said, his eyes glowing crimson in the white light cast over the scene. There were men working to remove the debri from the scene, and they'd put up bright spotlights in the corners of the room so as to see better. The vents along the walls had been torn into by hand, and was used as an access point to the modules that kept up the forcefield. The cieling and walls had been torn apart to destroy the ventilation system in his room completely, to make sure no poisonous gasses were filtered into the room.

"With the forcefield destroyed, he'd have access to more carbon again and would be able to begin accessing his aura more freely..." Jay said to himself, looking over the disfigured room.

"More freely?" Nick asked as he walked into the room as well, with Sasha ahead of him, picking up large pieces of metal and tossing them aside.

"Yeah...I read about that in Signal...If we huntresses or huntsman go a long time without letting our aura's loose a little, it can begin to have negative effects on our bodies...Sometimes even...Glitching the small effects our aura has on us and our weapons...Like uh...It'll weaken a shot instead of strengthen it...Things like that... It's like letting a bottle of soda sit out...It'll start to lose it's potency until you add more car-...Ok, using a simile that involves carbon was kind of a mistake on my part, but you get the gist..." Anna explained.

Sasha nodded, "That happened to me once...I thought I could save my aura to crash a lynching of a local faunus philanthropist who was donating to a charity that supports integration...It actually was...Quite painful once I started using it in battle again...It hurt to use my strength, and I almost died...Alot...So the fact that he could break out with that, neural suppressants, and aura suppressants bogging him down against the newest and...Supposedly...The greatest line of Elysium Knights yet...Speaks volumes about his capabilities..." she said, shaking her head.

"Uh, Jay? Remind me how we captured this guy again?" Nick asked, running two fingers from his left hand down the jagged metal at the opening of the cell.

"Look around, Nick...We didn't...He waited for one of us to visit so he could give us a warning...Then he broke out..." Jay answered. He suddenly reached for a medium sized piece of metal and picked it up, tossing it in anger at one of the workers who was clearing out the room. "SON OF A BITCH." he shouted. The workers in the room began to stand and clear out towards the hallways as Jay got more aggressive, grabbing the broken and fallen bed from the ground and tossing it against the wall, then grabbing it again and tossing it towards Ironwood. Anna and Nick stepped over to try and contain Jay as Sasha jumped forward and punched the bed to the side to protect Ironwood. Nick grabbed Jay's shoulders, trying to keep him still and talk to him, but Jay growled at him and began to reach for his tonfas. Anna dashed forward towards him and grabbed his hands instead of his shoulders, lacing their fingers and leaning up on her toes to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"Calm down, my fox..." she urged. Jay continued growling for a minute before stopping and sighing. Sasha quickly yanked her scroll from her pocket and snapped a picture while she had the chance, smirking at her victory. Jay released Anna's hands and picked up one of the poles that held a light and swung it hard against the wall, destroying it and raining sparks on the ground. One of the workers in charge of the clean up groaned and muttered about expenses as Jay bent the pole in half and broke it, throwing both pieces at two of the other lights in the room, leaving only two more.

"WE'RE COMPLETELY FUCKED NOW." he shouted. Ironwood tried to speak up, but Sasha put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "WHATEVER'S COMING FOR US, HE WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT KNEW ABOUT IT. WE ARE NOW BLIND. AGAIN. I FUCKING  **HATE** BEING BLIND. THIS IS YOUR FAULT, IRONWOOD. HE GOT OUT ON YOUR WATCH." Jay shouted, trying to toss another piece of metal at him but having Nick shoot it from his hand before he got the chance.

"We'd better go...Last time he got this angry, he rampaged through Vale in a stolen car..." Nick said as Anna grabbed his hands again, pulling him along with her past Ironwood back towards the elevator. He grumbled loudly but held onto her hands as she walked, glaring at Ironwood as he past.

Nick and Sasha both sighed, "We're sorry about our teammate...He has a few mental disabilities and he's not the nicest person when he's angry..." Sasha said, walking after them.

Ironwood composed himself for a second, "What is Ozpin doing, letting kids like that into his school..." Ironwood said to Nick as they followed over to the elevator.

"Kids like that?...You sound like you've got somethin' against him...And before you go cursing Ozpin, you should know that he puts all your shiny toys to shame...Our whole team does." Nick said slyly, stepping into the elevator with Ironwood. Jay said nothing, nor did he look at Ironwood. He held onto Anna's hand as they rode the elevator up to the lobby again. When it opened, everyone stepped out. Nick gave Ironwood one more look before turning and leaving after his team.

"Didn't even get a week without an outburst...Honestly..." Sasha muttered as they stopped outside the door to wait for Nick.

Nick turned to Jay when he caught up, "Dude...You can't go attacking men like General Ironwood like that...We're lucky he let us walk out of that building...You have to get yourself under control..." he said.

"I know, I know...I shouldn't have freaked out like that...Anna and I have to go get her weapon from Grant's...A walk will...Help me calm down..." he said, rubbing his temples. Nick glanced at Anna...

"Yes yes, I've got it..." she assured him.

"Hey Anna, I know you're shy, but...You haven't said much for days...Is something wrong?" Nick asked.

Anna chuckled, "Thanks for the sentiment, Nick, but no...I just enjoy the silence...And don't always have something to say...That's all..." she explained, shrugging. She grabbed Jay's hand and nodded to Nick and Sasha. "But what are you two gonna do while we're doing that?" she asked.

Nick shrugged and looked at Sasha, "We might just grab some dinner...That's all..." Sasha answered.

Jay nodded as Anna turned, then turned to follow her towards Grant's shop. Nick and Sasha simply stood there for a minute until Jay and Anna turned the corner. When they did, Nick glanced at Sasha out of the corner of his eyes...

"You wanna try having a nice date again?" he asked slyly.

Sasha nodded, "Oh yeah...Let's go find some trouble..." she muttered, glancing back as they took eachother's hands again.

* * *

 

Nick and Sasha walked down the street, each clasping the other's hand. In their other hands were large 20 ounce cans of soda...Nick had chosen cola, while Sasha had chosen orange soda. They were waiting on the call from Anna that would tell them to meet them at the airfield to get back to Beacon. As they rounded a corner though, they came to an odd scene. Both of them glanced at eachother, then back over the cop cars that covered the street. The police officers were converged around a small shop...Sasha let go of Nick's hand and stepped forward, recognizing the small book store.

"Hey...This is...Tukson's bookstore...I've come here a dozen times for books on automotive history..." she said, looking back at Nick and picking up pace towards the cop cars. Nick frowned and jogged after her. She approached one of the officers after downing her drink in one gulp, which didn't seem to faze her much. She walked right up to the tape line they had set up and reached over to grab the nearest officer, pulling her over to talk to her. The woman she'd grabbed was taller than she was, and had very dark skin, with hazel eyes. She frowned at Sasha, straightening her short black hair.

Before she could speak against Sasha, Sasha took her chance, "What happened here?" she demanded.

The woman groaned and cleared her throat, "Murder...Faunus guy named Tukson had his head blown off...Looks like a crushed watermelon with a shit-ton of red dye in there...There's evidence that he fought back, but whoever did this...They were clearly too much for him...Shame, too...By the way his place looked, he was packed up to leave at a moment's notice..." she responded, shaking her head and crossing her arms. Sasha was a bit shocked by what she'd just heard...Unsure of how to respond, she stood with a shocked expression, mouth opening and closing several times before she turned to Nick, who stood behind her.

"Graphic description to give a couple o' kids, don't you think?" he asked.

The woman shrugged, "Maybe...But you two are Beacon students, right? It's not hard to tell, what with her giant-ass sword, your...Robot...Arm...And your smaller sword...You gotta get used to things like this...You Huntsman and Huntresses are gonna see alot worse in your line o' work..." she responded, turning from them and going back to what she was doing before, which appeared to be coordinating the crew at the scene.

Sasha shook her head a few times, running her fingers back through her hair, "Why...Why did this happen...Tukson was a good man...We were friends...He welcomed me to the shop every time I came in...He had books set aside for me for the next time I came in..." she spoke without really addressing anyone in particular, just wanting to voice her thoughts.

"The way they describe it, it sounds like someone really had it out for him...Maybe it's just...Personal experience talking, but when someone is blown dead in the middle of the day, it's normally an organized hit...Maybe he was a member of the White Fang..." Nick said, putting his hands on Sasha's shoulders.

Sasha shrugged, "If he was, he never showed a sign of it...He was always kind-hearted...Never felt any hate from him..." Sasha answered, shaking her head.

"Maybe that's why he was hit...He realized really late what the White Fang had become and knew he didn't want a part in it...So he tried to leave...And was probably gonna be leaving Vale by the end of the day...Maybe the White Fang didn't like that, and took him out..." Nick continued. "It's clear he was a good man...I mean if he's got you vouching for him, he had to have been..." he finished.

Sasha shook her head, rubbing her forehead and sniffling, looking on the verge of tears, "Another one of my friends who didn't deserve to die..." she muttered. Nick frowned...He released her shoulders and walked off down the street for a minute. Sasha glanced after him, not sure what he was doing. She turned back to the scene, trying to wipe back her tears. She reached back on her back and took the handle of her great sword, just to feel it was still there...Her strength...Her power...She couldn't cry again...She stood with her hand on her blade for almost five minutes before suddenly she felt a nudge on her arm.

"Here..." Nick said, extending his hands...Clasped tightly were two books. The cover of the one she could see had 'Automotive Maniacs' printed on the cover, with two cars from the earliest generations of automobiles, and one of the models from three years ago. The binding on both books were only lightly worn, and the second one read 'Gears and Wheels of the Best Mobiles' on the spine. She frowned, not knowing what was happening.

"W-where did you...I...A-are these from...H-how did you..." she stuttered incredulously.

"I'm a professional, Sasha...You said he had books waiting for you, all I had to do was sneak in...He had a computer registry in the back...I looked you up, and sure enough, two books in reserve that never got picked up...If he was your friend...I think he might have wanted you to have them...And he definitely wouldn't have wanted you to cry over him...If anything, he'd want you to carry on twice as strong for equal rights..." he said, handing the books to her. She took them and fingered through the first few pages of the top book.

"Thank you..." she muttered. She wasn't sure what else to say. He was right though...She couldn't cry. Only remember...

Nick's eyes widened for a moment, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, while I was in there, I got the call from Anna to get back to the airfield...We're headin' home..." he said, gesturing the way they came. Sasha nodded and looked back at the bookstore for a few seconds. On the way back to the airfield, Sasha went on at length about some of her favorite books she'd read since she was old enough to read.

"It looked like a sticker book, with all the different auto-parts and all...And it was kinda fascinating, all these little puzzle pieces that fit together to make one giant several-ton metal scooter...Or at least that's what it was to me when I was small...And now that I'm bigger it's-...Huh...Actually, that's...Still a decent way to say it...But I say that now out of a more educated view-point, rather than a child's metaphor..." she said.

"So are you also able to drive then?" Nick asked, smiling at her passionate speech.

Sasha looked a little embarrassed at the question though, "Uh...A-actually...You uh...You remember that car Jay stole?" she asked. Nick nodded, "Well I could've fixed that baby up in a day...But I also probably would've destroyed it more than Jay did with his joyride..." she muttered, glancing away and blushing.

Nick chuckled, "That's so damn adorable...You can fix them but can't drive them? That's like...That sounds like the perfect metaphor for the phrase 'Those who can't do, teach...'" he said, laughing a little.

Sasha sighed and rolled her eyes, smiling a little, "Yeah yeah...But why were you wondering? Wanted someone to be a getaway driver?" she teased.

Nick shook his head, "Nah...I don't need no car...I have an arm that can literally shoot ice beams...I don't need no getaway car." he flaunted as they walked.

"Speaking of which, how'd you do that?...You snuck into a bookstore...Found a computer in the back room...And snatched two books...After receiving a damn phone call, for fucks sakes...And managed to sneak out again...Without getting caught by the numerous cops present...How..." she insisted.

"Two words..." he said mysteriously, leaning in a little. She followed suit and leaned in to hear him whisper, "Back door..." he said with a smile.

She chuckled for a moment...Then let out a laugh for a few seconds, shaking her head, "Wow...That's...I'm not sure why I'm surprised...But it was a surprising answer..." she said.

Nick shrugged, "I'm full of surprises..." he said. They were nearing the airfield now, walking at a slightly faster pace.

"And yet you still can't slip one past Jay..." she taunted.

Nick shook his head, "I will though...I know it...He's good...But I'mma get him one day...Such is the nature of our friendship." he remarked with a sly smile as they turned onto the sidewalk of the long expanse of marked concrete that was the airfield. They spied their bullhead instantly...Then again, it wasn't hard. It was already started up, with Jay and Anna both sitting in the open door with their legs swinging in the air beneath them. Sasha grabbed Nick's arm and stopped him for a second.

"Hold on. I'm gonna slip one by him for you right now." she said as she pulled out her scroll, turning on the camera and zooming into them. Jay and Anna's hands were together on the seat between them as they swung their legs. She snapped a picture and laughed maniacally for a few seconds. As they approached, Jay growled at Sasha, but Anna's hand tightened its grip and he turned more silent, simply narrowing his eyes menacingly at her as she and Nick climbed onto the bullhead.

"So, did your dinner-date go well?" Anna asked as she and Jay pulled their legs into the bullhead.

Sasha didn't speak, glancing at Nick, "We'll tell you on the way back..." he answered as the door closed behind him and the bullhead took off...

* * *

 

Xellos yanked the large metal door shut behind him and locked the bolts, turning the lock down to make sure it was sealed and stumbled to his bed. The bunker he was in was small, and the lights were motion detecting, switching on as he fell onto the mattress. His armor crackled with electricity that he could barely control as it faded into sand, falling from his body to reveal his skin. His Semblance had turned even his skin to the black diamond armor, which was riddled with cracks. He grunted as he turned over onto his back, trying to get his armor to fade. Sitting up, he watched as it began to crawl away, revealing his own skin, burned with the heat of the electricity that danced over his armor. He sighed, but suddenly bit back a yelp as the armor faded even into and away from the cracks. His hands twitched as the cracks sealed up with the fading armor, producing scars in the exact shapes of the cracks, that appeared as though they were caused by a lightning strike.

"Damnit..." he muttered, looking over his arms. He yanked off the prison outfit, already slightly in tatters,tearing it up, making sure there was nothing but scrap cloth left and went over to the bathroom. It wasn't a big room...Then again, none of the rooms in his emergency bunker were...The bedroom was the first thing in the bunker behind the door, with his bed to the immediate left of the door, but pushed back with enough room to close it. He had a small nightstand at the head of his bed, and on the right side of the room was a long coffee table that held a radio and some personal belongings, of which he didn't have many. He looked over his bare self in the mirror, examining his lean form and groaning every time he found a new scar on himself. He turned and took two steps to his shower, which had an opening glass door...Which also happened to be bulletproof glass. Every door in his house was made to seal and bolt, was insulated enough to take a bomb blast, and was made of a dent resistant metal that wouldn't be bashed down in less than twenty four hours.

The shower, like everything else in the bunker, was dust powered. In the back room, which was larger and more fortified than any other room in the place, held dozens of dust generators, plus barrels of extra dust, and an emergency supply in case he became trapped in there. He could still hear his heavy breathing over the shower water, which stung on the lightning-esque scars which now dotted his body. The soap, which he'd made himself, was filled with aloe, which took a little of the sting off, but didn't help much. The sting remained, and he could feel every bit of it even down to the tiniest lines of the cracks of scar tissue. His tail swished against the wall, splattering water around. He slammed his hands against the wall in anger...What he was angry at was a subject of some debate in his head...

"How could I have fucked up this bad..." he muttered to himself as he turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing the towel that waited for him on the bar next to the shower. He dried himself quickly, wanting to get on better cloths as quickly as possible, seeking their comfortable fit as opposed to the cloths he came here in. He went into his secondary supply room, which also served as his kitchen. It was to the left of the living room, just past the nightstand, and was almost as big as his back room, with enough food store in the cupboards and large walk-in cabinet to last him three or four years. But to the right of the walk in cabinet, he had another cabinet that held his cloths and various other supplies for hunting and survival. He pulled out his favorite violet shirt, boxers, and black hunting jeans. He lastly pulled out one of his spare cloaks to pull over himself before going to the living room. He laid down, considering what to do next...His mind wandered to his escape...

 

 

His aura flashed suddenly as it hit it's breaking point, and he released it into his skin, activating his semblance and forcing his skin to change into the black diamond armor, which was immediately enough to rip the chains from his hands. The alarm had already started to go off at his aura flaring up. He jumped up and swung hard at the ceiling, armored hands ripping through the dense metal and catching in the ventilation shaft. He jammed his other hand up into the ceiling, bending the metal back to close up the vents before releasing. He looked right and dashed towards the wall, smashing through the small vent, and with all his might, tearing through the metal that housed the circuits of the force-field, ripping them to shreds. The door opened as the force-field collapsed...But it was too late now. Xellos breathed deep of the air, then breathed out slowly as the layers of armor formed over his body, head, and tail in the seconds before the guards began firing.

The gunshots were high powered, and cracks formed occasionally, but Xellos was out of practice...Of course his armor wouldn't be one hundred percent potent. But even as the cracks bore deep to his skin, the armor reformed with each shot. His head ached from the bullets that were striking his helmet, but it didn't matter. Even with his eyes covered, he could breathe deeply and smell his foes. It was one of the greater advantages of being a wolf faunus. He suddenly dashed forward, slamming the palm of his clawed hand through the helmet of one of the guards, cracking his skull with the force of the blow. The man fell instantly, and the remaining guards began to scramble away from Xellos. His aura flared as the carbon formed jagged spikes over his body, which shot out towards the men in the room, stabbing through their armor and letting loose as much electricity as he could manage. The men fell unconscious or dead...He wasn't sure how many were which, but it didn't matter to him...

The spikes on his body curved around, becoming sickle-like ribs around his arms from his back and shoulders...They shot out, slicing through the wall at the borders. Xellos stepped forward and slammed his heel into the door, but the entire wall was shoved forward after being sliced from the cell. The carbon reformed into a single blade, which sliced the large slab of metal in two. His spiked hands jabbed into the two new smaller slabs, which he lifted without difficulty. He used the part of the wall in his right hand and crammed it into the hallway, where Elysium Knights were running towards him and firing. They had a new white armor and looked more coordinated....But Xellos shook his head, clicking his tongue.

"Pathetic..." he mumbled as he crushed the piece of metal in his left hand into the hallway door at the far end of the corridor. When he turned however, he was met with the sight of probably two dozen more of the new knights. He sighed and his shoulders fell a little, which immediately wracked his upper arms and torso with pain. His aura was stale and needed to be released. He stretched for a few seconds as one of the soldiers let out an automatic voice saying him to surrender and drop his weapons. He frowned as the pain began to get more intense.

"Can't do that, boys...Gotta get out o' town...There's a heavy rain comin'..." he muttered as he crouched into a fighting stance.

 

 

Xellos sat up on his bed, leaning up and turning off his radio, which he'd pulled over onto his nightstand and switched it to classical music as he went through his thoughts...He knew what he had to do...His body ached and protested to his movements as he stood up, trying to stretch. He walked back to the kitchen and opened up one of the bottles of cocoa he had, letting his aura drift over his body and coat his hand with his armor, letting free some volts of electricity to heat it up and give himself a hot drink. He sipped it slowly to test it, making sure he'd heated it right. It was a little cooler than he was used to, but he let that go and quickly downed the comfort drink before going over to his clothing cabinet and opening it. He pulled away some of his clothing and hunting materials to find a medium sized ornate wooden box. He pulled it free and replaced the items, closing the cabinet and returning to the room, sitting on his bed and opening it up. Inside were dozens of police files...Files he'd been forced to take throughout his life...All copies of these had been eradicated...On these were the only record of dozens of missing persons' cases. These were the only proof that any of these people had ever existed...Although Xellos knew their fate...He should have destroyed these files, but he couldn't. There had to be something left...He couldn't just leave nothing...He knew what he'd have to do.

He closed the box and went over to the nightstand where his backpack was, and placed only the box inside. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water or two, placing them inside as well, along with another bottle of cocoa, and three of his favorite granola bars. With that he undid the bolts on the door, turning the large bolt mechanism to unlock it completely and pulled it open. He then pushed the stone slab that covered the door out and pulled the door closed behind him, using the external keyhole to make sure it locked, then put the key in his pocket and walked out into the cave, pushing the stone that covered his bunker's entrance back into place, lining it up with the wall to make sure it went unseen, and began jogging towards the cave's entrance. It didn't take him very long to to get out of the cave into the Forever Fall forest. The men who'd tried to follow him were both slower and less powerful than he was, and he'd easily been able to escape by leading them towards Grimm, and then fleeing, dicing any of the creatures who tried to track him. No one got close enough to him to follow him to his bunker. He wasn't sure how many of the guards were still wandering the forest, but couldn't be many...It had been nearly twelve hours since his crash at about two o'clock in the morning. But this time he wasn't taking detours. He jogged swiftly through the forest, occasionally jumping up into the trees to avoid Grimm or animals, and only three times having to engage any of the Grimm that went after him.

After about an hour, he came to his target. A large cliff that dropped off into a river and ran to the sea. Xellos jumped without hesitation, the spikes on his back forming downward hooks that reached out for the cliff face, catching it and then twisting. He formed a large hook at the end of his hands and spikes in his foot, then swinging back and forth for a few moments before jumping to the side and catching the cliff again, using his momentum to swing to the next, as he made his way quickly along the cliff side. It didn't take him even half as long as it took to get there as it did to get to his next destination at the speed he was swinging with. Eventually, he came to the cliff that interested him...Beacon Cliff. If he was gonna get a ride into Vale for what he needed to do, this was how he was gonna do it. Using the spikes on his hands and feet, he quickly scaled to the top of the cliff, where the Beacon Air dock waited for him. He took ahold of the metal beams bolted to the cliff that supported the dock from underneath and climbed up onto the field. A large airship was docked at the station, apparently waiting for students. Xellos reached into his backpack and pulled out the watch. Seven minutes to one in the afternoon. He walked over to the airship and walked on. He could hear students in the ship, wandering around, waiting for take-off.

"Best avoid them..." he muttered as he walked casually down the hall. He pulled the hood of his cloak down as his armor retracted under his cloths, shifting to one layer as he walked. He moved with a sense of purpose, trying to avoid being questioned. There weren't any guards on this airship though...After a minute, he heard a woman speak over the loudspeaker.

"Five minutes to one, five minutes to takeoff. We're headin' into Vale in five, kids." the voice said. Xellos smiled and nodded as he walked forward towards the cockpit of the airship. It didn't take him long to get there though, and he knocked on the door, with two minutes to take off. The woman who spoke over the loudspeaker spoke from inside, "It's open, but make it quick..." she said. Xellos opened the door and walked casually, closing it behind him and sitting against the wall behind her. The woman had short black hair that only went halfway down her neck. She wore an older looking leather jacket and sneakers along with her red shirt and khaki pants. She turned in her chair to look at Xellos, who still had his hood down, "What can I do for you?...You look a little old to be a student..." she remarked, looking at his attire through her bright yellow eyes.

"I'm a volunteer from Vacuo...I came here with the Vacuo students to help with the tournament...Would you mind if I uh...Rode in here with you? I get a little social anxiety around alot of people..." he said instantly, without missing a beat.

The woman shrugged, "Suit yourself, just don't make too much noise unless I say ok...I gotta concentrate..." she responded.

Xellos glanced to the chair to her right, "Uh...Aren't there supposed to be two pilots?" he asked.

The woman chuckled, "I'm covering for my subordinate..." she answered. "I can handle this on my own..."

"You must be an excellent pilot..." Xellos remarked.

"You could say that...Name's Alice...Yours?" she asked casually, turning back to the controls and starting up the airship, her fingers dashing back and forth, button to button.

"Ebony..." he responded quickly, thinking immediately of the color of his armor as he watched her work the controls.

"Nice name...Hold on a sec," she said idly, reaching over and holding down a button and speaking loudly, "All aboard, kids, round-trip to Vale..." she said. The ship shook as it was released from the dock and started moving towards Vale. Alice held the guide stick in her left hand, and a small dial in her right, which she was using to stabilize the ship and increasing speed. "So...Hey...If you have social anxiety...Why did you come here with a bunch of other students to help with the tournament?" she asked, just to make conversation.

"I uh...I'm not really sure...I saw an opportunity to see a new kingdom and couldn't resist...I tend to avoid people anyway though...Thanks for letting me stay in here, by the way..." he responded.

"No problem...Feels good to be behind the wheel of a full-sized airship again...Flying a bullhead is nice and all, but uh...I kinda like these big machines..." she said to him, looking ahead at the sky, looking back and forth between the displays to monitor the conditions.

"You're able to drive one of them all by yourself, that's impressive..." Xellos remarked.

"Well I'm a pretty good pilot...Got alot of experience...After all, I've been working for Beacon since I met my wife...I've done escorts for huntsman and huntress...Their students...Into all sorts of dangerous territory...I think I've done interkingdom flights too..." she continued.

"Your wife?...What's she like?...Ah, I apologize for asking personal questions...Just trying to make conversation..." he said back.

Alice shook her head, "No no, it's ok...That's kinda what I was doin' too...Well she's...She actually works for Beacon too, as a huntress...Long brown hair...Damn fine body...She uses fans in battle though...They seem simple, but she can create tornadoes, so she's not to be messed with..." she explained, shaking her head.

Xellos' eyes widened as it clicked in his head...This was her wife...The wife of the huntress that knocked him out in the forest facility...Things went further in his head though...She was feeling better about being in a larger machine...Flying bullheads...She was on those missions...Every one of them...She was their get-away...She was there when that team attacked the freighter...All of it...And suddenly the depth of the person sitting in front of him was almost too much for him to handle...A smile broke out over his face as he shook his head.

"She sounds dangerous...I wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley..." he said casually, trying to keep his voice even.

Alice laughed and shook her head, "Not at all, my friend, not at all. So how 'bout you? Got anyone special back'n Vacuo?" she asked, looking over at one of the displays and pressing the guide stick forward.

Xellos shook his head, "Not a one to speak of...I'm a...Bit of a lone wolf...Always been that way...I uh...Once had a family...They were friends, really...But...I considered them family...They were students too...But uh...They died during a mission...And I couldn't stop it...I've had some anxiety ever since..." Xellos said, thinking back to Leif and Iskelle.

Alice frowned, pressing the dial into the control panel with her palm to turn the ship onto auto-pilot and turned her chair to face him, "I'm sorry to hear that...You seem like a good person, Ebony...I doubt it was your fault..." she said, leaning her elbows on her knees with her hands on the other knee.

Xellos shook his head, "I tried to make sure they didn't go...I tried to warn them...But uh...I couldn't stop them..." he responded. His hands wandered over his arms, then around to his backpack, pulling it around to his side.

"Then they don't blame you...They couldn't..." she said. Xellos shook his head again, pulling out one of the granola bars and gesturing towards Alice. She raised an eyebrow, "Oh uh, sure, thank you..." she said. He tossed it to her and he took another out for himself as she turned back to she opened it. "So what're you doin' in Vale?" she asked idly.

Xellos smiled a little as he opened the bar and took a bite, letting his hand wander to the box in his backpack, "I need to set something right...So I've got someone I need to talk to about a little insurance policy..." he answered with confidence.

* * *

 

Ozpin's formal announcement of the dance came the next day...At the start of the new semester. To get back into the swing of classes, during Professor Goodwitch's class on combat, Jay and Nick teamed up against Sasha and Anna, who trounced them with Anna's new axe in play...

"I didn't even see it coming..." Nick muttered as Jay helped him to his feet.

Anna and Sasha, both out of breath, sighed out a half-hearted 'yay' at their victory...It wasn't easy one by any means...Jay kept blocking all of Sasha's shots while Nick tried to keep up with her sword play...As for Anna, her new axe, whose head was made of a special metal that could change it's shape as Anna applied her aura, gave Jay all he could handle in close quarters...Sasha struggled to chip away at Nick's aura with every blow, and he and Jay supported eachother perfectly, providing both covering fire for their partner even while being separate, but never facing away from their foe. Anna and Sasha's divide-and-conquer tactics were too much, though. Even with Jay's staff, Anna's new versatility was too much to handle. And even with Nick's constant regeneration, Sasha leveraged her strength with perfect precision, as she'd learned to do in training with Anna, whose speed and illusionary skills made control on Sasha's part paramount. Jay and Nick not soundly defeated, but were slowly beaten.

"That axe is quite potent in combat..." Jay commented as the girls stood before them. Anna had it sheathed on her back with a new sheath that didn't touch the axe-head. It was currently still in the last form she had it in...A wickedly curved, almost scythe-like blade. Jay released Nick as the last of his aura regenerated his crushed bones. Anna smiled and grabbed Jay's hand as they walked back to the stands. When Professor Goodwitch let out class, she gave a parting comment to team JNAS, Jay and Nick in specific, who she said made an excellent combination, but should put forth more effort to being like their team members...

"For two team leaders to lose to two teammates is so far unheard of at this school...It's clear you've got alot of training to do if you want to catch up to your teammates. Try harder next time. Good job, Ms. Scathach, Ms. Aristole." she said simply.

Jay growled and said back, "I only have two things to say, Professor...One, perhaps, then, you should be congratulating our teammates more heartily instead of scolding us..It's clear that it was their skill that won out, not our lack-there-of that lost. And two, does that not mean me and Nick have done well in our roles as team leaders by making sure our team can handle a great challenge? Well don't worry, I can see that you thought that, so I'll just say thank you for the sentiment, and we'll be on our way." he said over the sound of the students leaving the hall. The look on Professor Goodwitch's face was some abridgement of anger and shock at his comment, and Nick quickly grabbed his arm, yanking him from the hall, with Anna and Sasha scrambling to get out in front of them...When they got to the hallway, however, Nick broke out in laughter, doubling over and putting his hands over his eyes, leaning against the wall for support. Jay couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction, and both Anna and Sasha, though they were shaking their heads, both also wore smiles.

"What were you thinking?!" Anna asked incredulously, still clearly amused though.

"Was I wrong?" Jay asked, glancing around at the team.

Sasha shook her head, "No, but...I mean...Come on, Jay, I thought you had more regard for your personal safety than to say shit like that to Goodwitch...Do you know what she does to students who sass her?!" she said, chuckling a little herself.

Jay nodded, "Yes, I've heard the rumors of students forced to take her on in a match, only to come face to hand with that riding crop..." he said, then glanced at Anna for a moment, "You think she uses that riding crop in her uh...Personal time?" he muttered to her. She turned a little red and smiled brighter, rolling her eyes.

"Wow, ok, perverse thoughts aside, that was incredibly risky...You could have just earned detention for our whole team the next time we see that class..." Sasha continued.

Nick was trying to stand, but still laughing, "Dude...She's right...You could have really just screwed us...But I want you to know, that if that's the case...It was totally fuckin' worth it!!" he said, collapsing against the wall again in laughter. Team SCRT, who had been walking away from the hall, had turned back when they heard Jay's comment. The twins ran up and almost grabbed Jay's shoulders, but Ann's eyes widened and she motioned her head towards them so that Jay could have the time to dodge. They both groaned and snapped their fingers.

"Hey Jay, be careful...You wouldn't want to kill your teacher with burns like that in the future," Sam chimed as he walked over.

Rachel walked over with the twins, standing against the wall next to Nick, "Nice job, puttin' those guys in their places..." she muttered to Sasha.

Sasha rolled her eyes and sighed, "Rachel, they don't have a 'place' and you know it...We won this time...That doesn't make us suddenly the end-all superiors...It's kinda ignorant of you to think like that..." Sasha retorted in a cocky tone. Rachel groaned and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing.

"Jay, we should probably go talk to you-know-who about the you-know-what..." the twins said mysteriously, conspicuously putting their hands over their mouths, feigning being stealthy. Everyone paused and looked at Jay and the twins, who were silent.

Jay looked around at everyone present, then cleared his throat, "Uh, yes, you're right. Let's do that. Everyone else, if you would kindly continue as scheduled to the cafeteria to lunch, the twins and I will join you presently." he said, quickly turning and walking off, with the twins trotting along next to him. Everyone stood a little confused as they watched them leave.

"Uhh...O-...Kaaay..." Sam muttered. He then turned back to the group, "Anyone for lunch?" he asked with a wide smile.

On the way to the lunch room, Nick and Sam took turns asking Sasha and Anna how they learned each of the skills they used against Nick and Jay.

"Ok, ok, but Anna, why does your axe look different? What's the story behind that?" Sam asked. Rachel, who was walking in silence next to Sam, perked her head at this, glancing over at Anna to listen.

"O-oh, well...I just...Thought it was time to get a new look...A new feeling...I just...Wanted a bit of a change...So I went to Grant's shop...Uh, Grant's an old friend of Nick's who's done good business with our team...And he had a new material he wanted to have tested in a...Legitimately challenging setting...And having it used as the weapon of a Huntress in training...Well he couldn't pass it up...The axe-head is now made of the metal...It can expand and contract, changing the shape of it's molecular bonds as it does so it keeps the same strength and resilience from one form to another...It could form a javelin head, or an axe head...Oh, and the best part is that the metal..." she reached back and put her hand on the curved blade, using her aura to reshape it, detaching it from the staff body, having it shift into the shape of a dagger with a serrated blade in her hand. The staff body immediately shifted into the longsword form in it's sheath, however. A small ring that stuck out of the staff about a foot from the top, right at the edge of the sheath near her shoulder folded out to form a small handguard. Anna's cat ears twitched, "Oh yeah, and when the metal is removed, my staff will assume longsword form...And Grant installed a handguard..." she finished, putting the metal back against the blade, which turned back into the staff-form as it fused with the axe-head's shifting metal.

Everyone stared in shock for a few seconds as they got to the cafeteria. Anna, who was smiling at being able to show off her new axe, turned a little red, feeling slightly nervous with everyone's eyes on her...But the attention was quickly turned from her as everyone went through the line to get lunch. Rachel got as many sweets and sugary foods as possible...Sasha scoffed and said she could practically feel the cavities forming on her teeth just looking at her tray, but Rachel ignored her regularly placed comment. Sasha got as large a medium rare steak as she could get, and covered the rest of her plate in mashed potatoes. Anna grabbed an apple, a sandwich, and a small salad to go with the tea she had reserved on her meal tickets. Nick got a nearly half a pizza, and two slices of pumpkin pie...Which he always held was the best pie of all, and would never tire of it. Sam, humming the whole time, got himself a steak, on the rare side however, a small salad, a glass of milk, and a brownie before heading off to the table with his classmates.

"So, guys, how many of us are going to that dance? It sounds like...Fun?..." Sam asked with a bright smile, looking around at his friends. Everyone at the table, a bit taken aback by this question, glanced nervously at eachother for a few minutes.

"Ahem...Well I think I'd like to go...I haven't been to a social event like that since I-...Uh...I've said too much...But yeah, I'd love to go...You?" he said, then glanced at Sasha with an eyebrow raised.

She nodded, "Yeah...I mean I can't dance very well...I get nervous, and can't feel my feet, then end up crushing things with my feet, which makes me more nervous...I took dance lessons, but obviously you just heard how they went...All my instructors went to the hospital with broken hands and feet...Two of them couldn't ever dance again...So...But hey, if nothing else, I can at least like...Walk around with you and beat the shit out of people who try to bully someone else for their appearance..." she smiled, laughing a little at the thought of it.

Sam smiled and nodded, "Alright...What about you, Anna? Are you and Jay going?" he asked.

Anna shrugged, "I don't know...I have some pretty bad social anxiety, and so does Jay, so I'm not sure...We might...Neither of us have really brought it up yet though...I mean it doesn't sound like the most fun thing in the world...And besides, I don't really have formal wear...I've never been to any dances or things like this...So I don't know...Maybe, maybe not..." she said, cat ears twitching nervously.

Sam nodded again, "Well it would certainly be nice to see you there...If you wanted, you could just hang out with us and not interact with anyone...And I bet Tia or Chris or probably Sasha would be happy to help you pick out something to wear..." he offered, nodding towards her, "Your friends got you covered..."

Anna smiled as she ate, nodding, "Well then...I'll...I'll ask Jay about it...Maybe he'd be willing to go..." she said. As lunch carried on, and everyone finished their trays, Anna began to look concerned...Jay and the twins were nowhere to be seen, and it'd been almost a half hour...Sasha glanced at Anna and noticed her getting anxious, immediately sliding over a little to be next to her.

"Hey...Don't worry...He's probably talking to a teacher about some academic extra-credit or something...Or the parameters of...Whatever, point is, don't worry, ok?" she reassured. Everyone else at the table noticed this, and Sam glanced at Rachel, both also getting a little anxious about the twins whereabouts as well...Those two could cause devastation if left loose...As soon as everyone had finished their food, Rachel being the last, everyone stacked their trays at the center of their table as they were supposed to, and left to go find their classmates. But they didn't have to go far. As soon as they opened the door to leave the cafeteria, they found Chris and Tia standing before them at attention, as if waiting for their arrival. They both smiled mischievously when they exited the building. Sam and Rachel's eyes widened and they immediately each grabbed the members of team JNAS.

"GET DOWN!!" they both called, Rachel tackling Sasha and Anna to the ground, Sam getting Nick, and both doing their best to shield their backs. The twins broke out laughing immediately...After a few seconds, when nothing happened, Sam and Rachel sighed and climbed to their feet, apologizing profusely for tackling the three members of Team JNAS. They all nodded understandingly and told them not to mention it...Ever...Everyone then turned their attention back to the Dragoons, who stood still giggling.

"We appreciate the reaction, Samuel, Rachel. You're certainly getting quicker...Who knows, you may even be able to avoid our pranks in the future...But we're not here for a prank at the moment...We're here..." Both of them lifted their hands, Chris, who stood on to Tia's right, raised his left hand, and Tia, who stood to Chris's left, raised her right, both pointing at Anna, "For you." they said mysteriously. Anna's eyes widened in fear, and everyone's eyes went to her. She turned bright red and tried to look small, her cat ears folding down. Before she could ask why however, the twins stepped forward, each grabbing one of her hands and pulling her along behind them. Unsure of what to do, she followed nervously, looking back at the other classmates who all followed behind her. 

"W-where are you taking me?" she asked tentatively.

"Spoilers." they both said at the same time. Suddenly Anna remembered Jay saying the same thing, and her ears twitched. She focused on trying to slow her heartbeat as they pulled her over to the side of the school's wing, where they led her to a tree. They stopped and turned to her, gesturing towards the tree. "We require you to climb this tree." they insisted. Everyone stopped in surprise and looked around. This was the side of the front building, with the open base and tier-like shaping, as well as the decorative spikes on the edges of the bottom tier-like building.

"Uh...Why this tree? A-and why am I climbing a tree anyway?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The twins glanced at eachother for a second, "It must be this tree. Please play along. Everything will become clear when you reach the top and look towards the building." they insisted again. Everyone immediately turned towards the building, but didn't see anything...Whatever it was, it could only be seen from the top of the tree. Anna sighed and looked up the tree for a few seconds, then shrugged and jumped up, grabbing the bottom branch and swinging her legs up to climb to the next. From there, she quickly maneuvered up the tree, getting to the highest safe branch she could. When she found that branch, she looked towards the building, expecting her view to be blocked...But it wasn't...Instead, the branches had been cut away so she could see properly. Her eyes widened, and a smile covered her face. Everyone on the ground continued looking around nervously until they looked towards the twins.

"Alright, can you just tell us what's happening?" Sasha insisted. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Please wait a few seconds more...Everything will become clear in a few moments..." they answered.

Anna, still at the top of the tree, had begun to laugh a little, feeling both embarrassed and happy. On the roof of the building, at the base of the tower at an angle that could only be seen from that tree, Jay stood with his back to the wall, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. Next to him, spray-painted on the wall in all caps and blue paint where the words, "ANNA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME TO THE UPCOMING DANCE?"

When Jay noticed Anna, he pushed from the wall and walked to the edge of the building, "Ah yes, there she is, the most beautiful huntress in Beacon, framed perfectly." he said loudly, gesturing to the circle of foliage cut out, which from his view, framed Anna's face and shoulders perfectly. Anna turned more red at this, but still smiled brightly. Everyone turned to look at Jay, all still wondering exactly what was going on. "I hear there's a dance coming up...I've never been to a dance...Out of all of my skills, I'm a bit chagrined to say dancing is not among them...But I would be foolish to pass up such a chance to enjoy an event such as this with my first girlfriend...And although I understand we both have difficulties in social situations, I believe that it would not be difficult to enjoy myself despite them as long as you were there with me...So what do you say?...Would you like to join me to the upcoming dance?" he said, putting his arms out and quoting the wall behind him.

Sam was the first to smile and begin clapping for the display, and everyone soon followed...Even from the distance they were looking from, Jay could easily depict Anna's nod. She cleared her throat, "I would be more than happy to." she said simply. She didn't have to say if very loudly. Jay smiled and pulled out his tonfas, quickly slipping something down the barrels of each before lifting them and firing upward. The small blue pellets reacted when they reached the peak of their arch, bursting suddenly and releasing water dust, which turned immediately to water raining down above the building. The paint on the walls began to run off with the water, and right before the flow of water hit Jay's heels, he leapt from the top of the building, sheathing his tonfas on the way down and collapsing into a roll as he hit the ground. He stood as Anna dropped from the tree. He walked casually over to the group and immediately wrapped his arms around her, who followed suit without hesitation.

Not a second had passed before Sasha's scroll was snapping a picture of this. Nick leaned over and whispered, "I know it's cute and all, but why do you get so happy about your friends being all...Well, cute together?" he whispered.

"It's my real life OTP...And it makes me happy..." she answered casually, smirking.

Jay cleared his throat, "I apologize for the grandiose path I chose to take to ask you to a simple dance, and for being secretive about it...But as you're my first girlfriend, and I'm asking you to our first dance, I thought it best to something appropriately grand..." he explained.

Anna shook her head, "No no, it was nice...I mean...Embarrassing, yes...But...Good embarrassing, you know? And it's ok, I'm willing to forgive that..." she said, standing back a little, but keeping their hands held.

"So you two were in on this plan?" Sam asked, turning towards the twins.

They both came to attention again and saluted, "Of course. We couldn't in good conscience pass up the chance to help set up a grand romantic gesture...We may be pranksters first, but we're romantics second." they said, both standing casually again.

"I had to get permission from Ozpin to do this...He was...Understanding...And the twins helped me get the spray paint, the location, and were...The guides...Plus, Tia needed to ask Ozpin about her girlfriend coming to the dance anyway, so she said she'd join in..." Jay continued.

Everyone's jaw dropped, "Tia's girlfriend?" they all said at once.

The twins, both taken aback by this, chuckled to themselves, "We must be rubbing off on you guys..." they said together. "And yes. My girlfriend." Tia went on alone. "I met her at the docks after the Freighter mission...Her name is Sid...She's in Vale from Vacuo for the tournament...Came early to get acquainted with Vale...I offered to help show her around, Chris, like a good brother, got lost, and we...We've been talking regularly..." she said.

"And how do your dates go? Nothing...Goes wrong?" Nick asked.

Tia raised an eyebrow, "Uh...No...Why would it? Anyway, I wanted to ask Ozpin if I could bring her to the dance, and he said of course I could..." 

"Aw...So Chris is left without a date?" Anna muttered.

Chris laughed, "No no no...You see in our whole lives, never has one of us gotten something that the other hasn't acquired within three months thereafter...We're going to a dance...Maybe it's just my whole life of experience making one of the best guesses ever made, but I'm pretty damn positive I'mma meet a nice guy at this dance. I'd bet good money on it." he responded with a smirk.

Tia nodded, "It's true...I wouldn't bet against it, because it's probably gonna happen..." she said, shrugging.

Suddenly everyone was brought out of their conversation by the first bell ringing, signalling the students that classes would start in five minutes. Everyone glanced around and suddenly all at once began dashing towards the school buildings to get to class on time...

Nick ran alongside Jay, and muttered as they ran, "Hey...I wonder what Mickey and Alice are doing today..."

Jay shrugged, or at least whatever shrug he could manage while running, "Makin' new friends? Who knows...Forget that and let's get to class." he called back as they ran.

* * *

 

On the way back to Vale, Xellos sat in the pilot's seat next to Alice and laid back casually, continuing to think through his possible solution. Would this even work? His mind wandered to the box, which he'd hoped was well secured since it was no longer in his possession. Alice, who sat in the seat next to him, was asking him about his business in Vale that day...

"You said an insurance policy, yeah? What was that about?" she asked idly.

"Oh, well...I still have...Friends who are...Upcoming huntsman and huntresses...Right now, they don't know it, but they're gonna be going out on a mission against something...Well it's no normal mission...So I wanted to send them a few things about their target...Maybe give them an edge..." he answered.

"Ahh...So that's why you were in Vale? To get that information?" she asked.

Xellos' tail swished under his cloak, "How do you find that?" he asked.

Alice shrugged, "Well...I used to do the same thing...Go to new places to get information on things...I did it one time for my wife...It was before we got married...So I can kinda...Tell when someone's doin' somethin' I've done too...Something else I can tell is that you're not telling the truth about your friends...Or at least not...The whole truth..." she thought outloud.

Xellos' eyes widened and he raised his eyebrow, glancing at Alice, "Just what kind of work did you do before you met your wife, then?" he asked.

Alice chuckled and shook her head, "The uh...The not-good kind...I hope now that you're out of it too, you can stay out of it...You seem like a good person at heart, Ebony..." she said.

Again, Xellos was taken aback by her insight, "Well...I hope you're right in the end..." he said. They spent the next few minutes until they got to the airdock in silence, simply watching the water go by and enjoying the view. When she landed, Xellos stood and walked towards the door.

"See ya Ebony...Keep doin' good work..." Alice said to him on his way out.

Xellos stopped with the door halfway open and turned, his tail wagging under his cloak, "Tell your wife...Mickey, did you say...Tell Mickey I said hi..." he said, stepping out and closing the door behind him. Alice shook her head, smiling a moment...Then suddenly she raised her head in thought.

"Wait a minute... **Did** I say my wife's name?..." she thought to herself...But for her life, she couldn't remember...

 

 

Xellos kept his hood down until he walked off of the airship, making sure to be the last of the other students. When he was on the small expanse of metal from the airship to the airfield, he glanced around quickly to make sure no one was looking at him, and quickly stepped to the side, letting himself drop from the platform. He glanced back up to make sure none of the students saw him. When no one looked over the edge after him, he smiled and formed the hooks on his hands and feet, then swung himself to the side, catching the cliff again and continuing to go back the way he came. He tried to move a little more quickly, his tail still wagging behind him. Eventually he came to the cliff where he leapt from earlier, recognizable by the damage on the cliff face where he stopped himself from falling. He quickly moved up the cliff face, jumping up the last bit onto the solid ground. He sighed and pulled his backpack up a little more, tightening the straps up again and starting to jog through the forest. He only had one more thing to do...

He jogged quickly through the woods, dashing around trees and over rocks that were overtaken with roots from the humongous trees of the Forever Fall. There wasn't a single thing in his path...And with each step, he got more suspicious, until he stopped, only yards from his target...But surrounding it were dozens of Grimm. But they weren't just going nothing...They were surrounding three Atlas guards, and several dozen of the new Elysium Knights, who'd formed a large protective circle around the men. He sighed, rolling his eyes. He turned and noticed two more grimm approaching from the west...'That won't do...' he thought. He slipped his backpack off and undid his cloak, laying the black cloth on top of his pack. His armor quickly formed over his body and clothing, his hands becoming covered in long curved, bladed claws of diamond. His aura interacted with his armor, electricity crackling over his feet and calves, letting him dash forward with incredible speed. He jumped up, slamming his foot against the skull of the Ursa Major who was running to the scene. The Ursa died as Xellos' kick went through, jamming the skull of the Ursa against the tree it was running past.

The beowulf, who was following the Ursa, stopped and looked over Xellos. Xellos formed a helmet over his head, making himself look like a beowulf as well. The creature, clearly looking confused, held back from howling for the others. While it was still like this, Xellos jumped forward, his claws slashing through the thing's neck, removing it from its shoulders. The helmet moved back off his head as he looked back at the scene behind him. He sighed again, helmet replacing itself over his head, but this time taking on a more half-wolf, half-man appearance. He jumped up into the trees and leapt quickly from one to the next until he got close enough to see the crashed bullhead he'd escaped in. The drag marks from the crash and the broken glass from where Xellos leapt through still looked the same. The fire was out, probably because of the men present, of which one was already dead, along with three of the Elysium knights.

"We can't hold out much longer, we'll be dead by the time our support arrives!!!" one of the remaining two men was shouting. Xellos considered his possible actions, but was brought out of his head by the same screaming man as before, "We're running out of knights...Why did we agree to do this!!!" he shouted in desperation. Xellos sighed...The more that guy screamed in fear, the more Grimm would come...

He groaned and jumped from the trees, landing behind the line of Elysium knights, but in front of the men themselves. He turned to the man who was shouting his head off, taking two steps towards him. The man tried to shoot him, but it was clearly ineffective against his armor. The man stopped backing up, paralyzed in fear.

The mouth of the helmet shifted off of him so he could speak, "Shut the fuck up." he said simply, before placing his palm quickly against the man's chest and releasing just enough electricity to knock the man unconscious. He turned to the second man, who was clearly keeping his cool much more than his friend. He wasn't wearing his helmet, and had scruffy brown hair that stuck out in all directions, and wide eyes. But most importantly...He didn't look to be older than twenty. Xellos stepped forward, but the man neither shot, nor tried to run. His helmet retracted completely as he grabbed the gun from the man's hands. "Go sit down by the bullhead and don't move, kid." he commanded. The kid said nothing, immediately going to sit by the bullhead as he was told.

Xellos sighed and stepped forward, shooting down Grimm after Grimm, making sure each shot was a kill shot before he pulled the trigger. After nearly two dozen Grimm fell, the gun ran out of ammo. He tossed it aside and smiled as he looked around. The Grimm were thinning out, not appearing in higher numbers anymore. His tail wagged under his cloak as he nodded.

"Perhaps I gave these toys too little credit...They're holding up well..." he said to himself as his aura began to free itself. His body was no longer aching, and he felt more free than he had in years. A pair of long carbon diamond bars formed in front of both of his hands, aura releasing the electricity, which sparked through the air with satisfying popping sounds on the earth. Threads of carbon moved up over the bars, forming small arrows over them. His ears were covered by ear muffs made of his diamond before he turned to the kid sitting by the bullhead.

"Cover your ears, kid, this is gonna hurt 'em bad." he said. The carbon separated from the arrows, which dropped onto the railguns, blasting forward with incredible force and speed. Several of the Elysium Knights crumbled like glass to a gun, with the residual electricity zapping a couple more...Those that were zapped were paused for a few seconds, but their insulation proved more effective, quickly remedying the issue and resuming their fire on the Grimm. The craters in the earth from the railgun blasts went on for almost a mile...The Grimm that once stood in the path of the railgun were now completely eradicated. Turned to mush before the powerful blast. Some of the Grimm were now running in fear, wanting to live to fight another day. A few of the more foolhardy Grimm, however, had began to jump over the Elysium Knights, trying to make it to Xellos himself and face a powerful opponent.

He smirked, shaking his head as the carbon shifted from his body, forming long curved blades on his elbows, hands, back, and shoulders. He jumped and turned through the air, each blade slicing through one of the Grimm as it came. None but Xellos even made it to the ground. When he landed, the remaining Grimm had wisened up and were running for their lives. He chuckled for a few seconds, which was cut short as the remaining Elysium Knights turned on him.

"Halt! You are a high-security fugitive, and will drop your weapons immediately, or we are authorized to use deadly force." they all said in a mechanised voice.

Xellos groaned as his armor formed over his body again, "Come on, guys...Let's not go through this again..." the curved blades on his body were shifting back, all forming the half-circle rib cage around his body and over his shoulders. The Elysium Knights didn't even bother speaking again, all opening fire on Xellos. But his armor was far more powerful than their gunfire. The blades around his body suddenly expanded, becoming almost ten times their original size, before closing like pincers, slicing through every one of the knights in one single motion. Xellos sighed as the blades vanished into graphite dust...He turned around to find the boy he'd ordered to sit down had retrieved his partner's gun, and was now pointing it at Xellos, if not a little shakily.

"You saw what just happened to them...Don't make me kill you, boy...It'd give me nightmares...And I don't need any more of those..." he said, walking towards the kid.

"Y-you...Saved me...Only to kill me?" he stuttered out.

Xellos shook his head, "I saved you to get a message out..." he walked up and snatched the gun from the kid's hands, his claws easily sinking into the metal, crushing it into a useless mangle of metal before tossing it aside. He walked over to the kid's partner, still laying unconscious, body occasionally twitching.

"A...Message...What message?" the kid asked tentatively.

Xellos removed the man's helmet and put his palm against the man's forehead, letting loose electricity into his body...He couldn't have this one remembering he was there...The kid, however..."One. I saved you. My name is Xellos, and as you heard, I'm a fugitive. Understand?" he asked. The boy nodded fervently. "Next...The Grimm were destroyed by these...Elysium toys...And your partner here, who suffered a blow to the head to save your life, and lost his memory...The Grimm destroyed all the Elysium toys however, and you're the only one left...Your message is this. This crash sight is not safe. The Grimm concentration in this area is too high to be safe for any sized force to properly examine. Beacon's assistance will be required to clear out the area. This is the final message I have for you...You believe there's something here to find, that's why I returned, so it's urgent that this place be cleared out...And...I only didn't kill you because I hoped the Grimm would do it for me. Your...Backup... Won't be here for nearly fifteen minutes...One of the pilots was out today, that's why it's taking so long...Alright? Can you remember all that?" he asked. The kid nodded for a minute, closing his eyes and repeating it in his head. "Good kid...Try not to get yourself killed in the future." he said, before slipping the helmet of the other unconscious guard onto his head, then slamming his elbow against the boy's temple. The helmet kept his skull from cracking and killing him, but he was knocked out immediately...Xellos nodded and glanced around.

"Fifteen minutes...I'll be out of here by then." he said to himself before going about his final task...

* * *

* * *

 

Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. This is your author, Jay, or perhaps I'll use my full name. My name is Jeremiah, and today, January 30, I found out that the writer and creator for our beloved RWBY, Monty Oum, has been sent to the hospital in critical condition. There have been get well messages sent around social media all day. So I'm going to give my piece, and write a get well message for Monty Oum.

Monty, if you ever get to read this, and I hope you do, I want to say that I'm sorry for this event...I'm not sure of the details, as the announcement gave no specifics...But either way, it's not really fair that you would be forced to suffer like that...My colleagues, Nick and Anna as well as other conspirators of our project, are hoping for your recovery. More than hoping, really. I myself have never been a religious man, but like my friends, I find myself praying for your safety to any god that will listen. We hope you recover...Your project was responsible for me meeting my two partners, one of whom is my best friend, the other, my very loving girlfriend. So it's no stretch to say RWBY is very important to all three of us. Thank you for creating such an incredible world with incredible characters...We hope you're back on your feet as soon as possible...I wish I had money to donate...We all wish we could do something other than wait...But unfortunately...None of us have much more than words to offer...But we have them, and we'll offer them...I believe that you are able to overcome this, so my partners and I will be holding off on continuing this story until we hear of your recovery. Thank you for absolutely everything.

-Jeremiah "Jay," MZT1418.

* * *

* * *

Ladies and Gentlemen...I'm not quite sure what to say...Today, February 2, I learned that Monty Oum...Our friend and writer for RWBY...Passed away...Due to an allergic reaction...To be honest, I'm not sure how to take it...I feel like...I should have done more for him...Even though I know there was nothing I could do at all...The only thing I know...Is that Roosterteeth posted this http://roosterteeth.com/members/journal/entry.php?id=3302319 today...And that...Well, what Monty would have wanted...Is to help make the world more creative...To help brighten it...And I'm not really the best writer in the world, but...I feel like I should be doing something...I'm not sure what will come next for RWBY or any of Monty's other work, but...I will continue this project with my colleagues, in the hopes of...Remembering him...Because at this point...There's nothing more I can do but that...Without Monty, I would never have met two of the most important people in my life right now...The people who keep me climbing...So...I've got alot to thank him for...Monty, I know you won't ever get to read this...But...I can only believe you're busy making whatever afterlife there is much more creative...So I'll do my best to do the same here...I'm sorry I can't do more...Rest in peace, Monty Oum...

-Jeremiah "Jay," MZT1418.

* * *

* * *

 

Team’s JNAS and SCRT both stood by the cliff, letting the wind flow through their hair. It was peaceful out at the Cliffside; at the spot where they first began Initiation so long ago…It was an odd feeling being back here now. It felt like they had somehow become veterans, even though they all acknowledged they were still very much green. Jay sat with his legs hanging off the cliff, as did the twins. Anna was making conversation with Rachel, something she’d never had the opportunity to do. And although both ladies were normally quite silent, they found themselves able to talk about quite a few things they’d both liked or disliked about Beacon and Signal, Rachel having attended herself. Nick and Samuel stood talking with Sasha over by the trees beside the path, but Jay and the twins made no effort at conversation, instead content to enjoy the winds. There were only two other teams here for a new class they’d all signed up for…It was a class that was only recently added to the Beacon line-up of courses, and they were the most curious about its teachings. There wasn’t even a teacher listed. Only a set of instructions for every newcomer to the class. As they were told to be at Beacon cliff for their first class on Wednesday morning. Team’s JNAS and SCRT usually had Wednesday mornings off to themselves, so this broke their normal peace. However, it didn’t feel like an inconvenience to them…This was supposed to be an outdoor class anyway, so the fresh air more than made up for it.

“So…Who’s our teacher for this class, anyway?” Sasha asked, glancing around, “And for that matter…Shouldn’t they be here by now?”

Sam shrugged, “Who knows…I mean it could be Doctor Oobleck…This seems like his type of class…” he said.

Nick raised an eyebrow, “Kinda…I mean…Efficient Deployment Application 101: Falling and Landing…I’m…Not sure I like the sound of this class…In fact, I’m pretty sure we’re gonna end up being thrown from this cliff…A lot…So…Why we decided this class was a good idea, I’ll never know…” he said.

“Did…Our team’s actually sign up for this class? Or was it just kinda…Assigned to us…” Sasha wondered.

“That’s what we were wondering…I don’t recall even consulting my team for this class as an option…” Sam stated.

“Uh…Huh…So if it wasn’t our decision…Whose decision was it then?” Nick pondered.

“It was my decision…” someone spoke out in answer to their question.

Sam, Nick, and Sasha’s hearts all skipped a beat…They recognized that voice…

The three of them turned to face the woman who spoke…“We should have known it was you, Mickey…” Nick said simply.

Mickey laughed, a bright grin crossing her face, “Sorry kids…I know I should have consulted you first, but…Call me nervous, but I’m finally getting back into the game, and wanted to have a few friends to help keep myself level…” she said. Mickey stood in her battle armor, arms crossed over her chest. Actually, she didn’t really stand…Everyone glanced down to her feet, where winds swept under her body in a small vortex that kept her inches from the ground.

“I know you’ve got great control of wind dust, but how are you doing that?” Sasha asked.

Mickey pushed her glasses up on her nose, “Actually, despite popular belief…My Semblance works both ways…I can speed things up as well as slow them down. It took years and years more than you kids realize for me to get complete control over my Semblance, but once I did, I could perform the most precise of tricks with my chosen dust. And since it was Wind dust I was best with, I learned things like this in nearly no time at all with the help of my Semblance…And from there, instinct turned to skill…And I got a plethora of skill.” Mickey explained.

“What took you so long, Mickey? We were beginning to wonder if you’d get here at all…” Jay said. Having noticed that Mickey had arrived, he and the twins had stood from the edge of the cliff and walked over to join them, along with Anna and Rachel.

“Wait wait wait…You knew Mickey was the teacher?” Sasha demanded.

Jay nodded, “I’ve known ever since I found out the class was on our schedule…All I had to do was dig into Beacon records to find out that Mickey was the last one who taught this class…It took less than five minutes in the library…If you guys hadn’t been playing that strategy board game, you’d have realized what I was doing…” he explained.

The twins immediately glanced at eachother and smirked at Nick and Sasha, who'd tried in vain to stop the twins’ from conquering all of Remnant…Unfortunately; no one could stop the juggernauts of Vacuo from knocking down every other nation like dominos.

Nick and Sam groaned, “Speaking of which, Jay’s on our team next time. I bet he'd bring you two down in two turns flat.” Sam said, crossing his arms. Both Tia and Chris, in perfect sync, raised their hands, arms outstretched and pointing towards Nick and Sam, then turned their thumbs to point down, still smirking, as a gesture of confidence. Anna and Rachel both stayed silent, mouths dropped open at the realization of who was teaching this class.

Mickey turned to them and let herself down onto the ground, “Aw, come on you two, it won't be that bad…I'm not a bad teacher…” she said.

Anna shook her head, “N-no, it’s not that…We're just surprised that you're actually coming back to be a teacher…I mean…We just…Didn’t see it coming…” she explained, shrugging. Rachel nodded in agreement.

Mickey pondered their answer for a few seconds before deciding it was honest, and nodding. “Alright…Well, ahem, everyone, get over here so we can get this class started!!!” she shouted, the remaining two teams, Teams DASH and JADE, also came over around Mickey with their classmates. “So…Can anyone venture a guess as to what this class is about?” she asked.

From behind the class, a boy with a mask from team JADE spoke up, pulling his hood down off his head, “Given the name of the class, I wager it would be a class to prepare us for deployment in various environments under various conditions.” he said simply.

Mickey nodded, “Erin is it? Kudos to you, that’s exactly what this class it. We'll be preparing for…Well, exactly what he said. Each mission you kids are gonna be deployed into will be unique…They may have similarities, but each hunt is a new one. And more than anything, a strong start is imperative to a good hunt. Now Grimm are…As you know, they're not the most convenient of creatures. They won't always present you with ideal landing conditions…You may end up having a drop zone that’s literally right smack dab in the middle of the hoard. But that’s what this class is for. There are dozens of precautions, maneuvers, and immediately available actions that can neutralize a threat to your landing and hunting. We're gonna be learning about as many as can be taught to such young hunters in training. Get it?” she explained, looking around from student to student as they nodded their understanding.

“Good. Let’s begin.” she said, smiling and removing her fans from her belt, whipping them open, scattering sprinkles of wind dust before sweeping her arms out, whipping up a vortex that immediately tossed all the students from the cliff.

The class was in uproar on their way down towards the Forever Fall forest.

“Gods damnit, Mickey!!!” Jay shouted as they went down. Mickey, who'd jumped after them shortly after throwing them from the cliff, caught up with Jay, a vortex of wind swirling around her feet.

“Oh come on, what’d'you expect? Gotta keep you kids on your toes…” she insisted.

“Well that’s the exact opposite of what you did!!! None of us are on our toes anymore, are we!!?” Sasha shouted in annoyance.

Mickey sighed, “Well you guys better get your feet down and your heads up…The ground’s comin’ up fast, and this is for a grade, so get yourselves in gear.” she insisted.

In the few seconds everyone had the ground, most of them had themselves straightened out, weapons drawn, ready to land. Two members of team JADE had a hard time straightening themselves, so Mickey moved over and used some of her wind dust to straighten them out herself…But it didn’t help. Everyone’s landing was sloppy and left them all out of breath. Mickey breezed down after them, landing lightly on her feet, clicking her tongue.

“Alright…We clearly got work to do before you guys get movin’ on the real stuff…So. Everyone up. Come on, back to the cliff. And you guys best be prepared to climb.” she said, walking student to student and helping them to their feet.

“Wait…You're gonna make us scale the cliff face? Isn't that dangerous?” Al, a member of team JADE, spoke up in protest.

Mickey shook her head, “Nah, I'll catch you if you fall, don't worry about it…” she said with a smile. She let everyone walk as they wanted to get back to the cliff, rather than having them run…They'd get to that in time…But right now, they could walk. The Grimm that wandered this shallow side of the forest near Beacon tried to come close to the group a few times, but with that many students in one place, none made it very far. When they got to the cliff, everyone was in better spirits, at least…But as they looked up the cliffside, their spirits waned slightly.

Mickey nodded to the kids and gestured to the cliff, removing her fans, “Well then?...Come on kids, let’s get going…” she said, sweeping the fans beneath her and producing another one of her vortexes, which swept her upward. The kids groaned, moving towards the cliff and starting up. Anna was the first one up at the top, surprisingly followed by Rachel, then Sam. The twins made it up after them, and before Jay. Nick and Erin followed, along with two members of team DASH, and the remaining members of the class followed at about the same pace to the top of the cliff. When all of them finally made it to the top, Mickey, who had been **sitting** on her small wind vortex a few feet away from the top of the cliff to watch, swept herself over to the cliff and landed lightly on the edge, clapping and smiling.

“Alright, that was good, no one fell…That’s a good sign…Unfortunately…We have no more time for anything more…The next lesson, we're going to be brushing up on these skills. We can’t move on to anything else until we get our landings completely down. Alright…See you guys next time. Off with ya’, kids.” she said, waving her hands and telling them to get back to the building.

As they walked away, team SCRT started walking near team JNAS to lunch. This class had been directly before that, which made things easier for them anyway…

“So…That was…A class…” Sam commented. Everyone groaned slightly as they walked.

“You could ‘a clued us in to the fact that Mickey was the teacher there, Jay…” Nick said to him.

Jay chuckled, “It was funnier that way…I'm totally ok with being part of the joke…It was funny as fuck to see your reactions…” he said, shaking his head and smiling.

“Well…She’s a good teacher…If not…Uh…Well actually, let’s be honest, she’s no stranger than any other teacher at this academy…” Anna stated, glancing around at the group.

They all nodded, but suddenly stopped short when Alice walked up before them. Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, looking at Alice, who looked over them for a few seconds in silence.

“Uh…Guys?...” she said, waving her hand in front of them.

“What’s up, Alice…” Sasha said first.

Alice glanced at her, “I’m looking for Mickey…Is she still out at Beacon cliff?” Alice asked. Everyone nodded together. Alice nodded, “Thanks guys…”

“Hey Alice, what've you been up to lately?” Nick asked.

“Oh, well…Had to fill in for a friend yesterday who was out…Met one of the volunteers from out of kingdom…Poor guy had social anxiety, and sat up in the cockpit with me…Good kid though…Unfortunately, my friend got in trouble for sleeping when he was called in for a rescue mission out in the forever fall…Only two survivors…The second guy lost his memory…We’re waitin’ for the kid to wake up to get a report on what happened…So…Yeah. How ‘bout you guys? Had fun with Mickey’s class? She’s been really excited about getting back into the game, and uh…Hasn't stopped talking about it. It’s cute, really…Did it go well?” Alice asked in return.

Everyone gave a general nod to her, murmuring yes and that it was fun. Alice nodded, smiling before walking past them to go see Mickey. Everyone looked after her for a few seconds…

Nick sighed, nodding, “That was nice…A nice pleasant conversation…She’s a very pleasant person to talk to…” he said simply.

* * *

 

Sasha and Anna sat with the twins at a table in the corner of Beacon's Ballroom, where things were being set up for the dance. Surprisingly, it was Saturday. The classmates had spent a few minutes debating amongst themselves why they waited till Saturday, the night before the dance, to set it up. It was a curious choice, seeing as they could have just cordoned off the ballroom until that night, and could have had things set up in advance…Sasha watched with annoyance as a tall girl with a mane of golden hair was lifting a large boom box on her shoulder over to the sides of the stage. A member of Team RWBY, she was renowned for having incredible physical strength...Which always irritated Sasha to great lengths. She was positive she was stronger...And it angered her that no one seemed willing to acknowledge it. The girl put the boom box down with a crash, jolting the tables in the room with the force.

"Hmph. I could have lifted both of those...And put them down gently like you're supposed to. Stupid boxer..." Sasha grumbled to herself.

The twins looked to Yang Xiao Long, then back to Sasha, "Are you sure you're stronger than she is? I mean you've seen her in spars...She can crush people pretty well..." they stated, still looking back and forth between Sasha and Yang.

Sasha grumbled more under her breath, glaring at the twins, "I can toss cars with my bare hands. Of course I'm stronger than her." she muttered angrily.

"Well I totally think you could beat her...I mean I'm pretty sure she'd crush me, but you'd totally win..." Anna said, her cat ears twitching and smiling at Sasha.

"Bruh." the twins said at once, looking towards Anna.

"Bruh? What the fuck is 'bruh'?" Sasha asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"Anna bruh, you'd wipe the floor with Yang...Those illusions would be too much for her to handle...And you're way way too fast with that staff for her to get a proper combo goin'...She'd be on the ropes in no time..." they insisted together.

"Yeah...They're right. I mean who knows, with your speed, you may even be able to top her fight-happy little sister..." Sasha said, nodding towards Ruby, whose sister had clearly said something that annoyed her teammate, the Schnee heiress.

"T-thanks...I'm still a little curious how a girl that young has that kind of skill...I mean...Her fighting style is...Eerily similar to a Signal teacher...Professor Qrow...I polished up alot of my own techniques and style by watching his...I mean, long staff, blade at the end...It was very helpful to watch someone who wielded a weapon similar to mine..." Anna responded, looking over at Ruby.

"Speaking of which...She's so young, yeah? And a first year here at Beacon...So how come her team got saddled with setting up the dance?" Sasha asked.

The twins nodded towards them, pointing towards Weiss Schnee, who was now talking to two of the students from out of kingdom, one of whom was a faunus, "Because of her...Her father's probably paying for this whole dance...Or at least footing the bill for decorations...So of course they have to have the heiress' team in on the setup..." they said together.

Sasha scoffed, "Oh yes, of course. How could I forget...The rich are in command..." she groaned.

Anna frowned, nodding in agreement with Sasha, ears twitching in annoyance, "I'm also not too fond of that Schnee girl either...She's...Just...Too bitchy...And clearly too full of herself..." she stated.

"I would agree...She should practice more humility in a place where combat can decide practically anything...Especially since she's actually not all that talented in combat, to be honest." Jay stated. Everyone nodded in silent agreement...Then realized who said that and all turned in surprise to see both Nick and Jay standing behind them. Jay stood up straight, arms behind his back. Nick stood against the wall with his hands in his pockets, also nodding in agreement.

The twins stood up in amazement, "How'd you do that?! We didn't even notice you!! You gotta show us!!!" they demanded.

Jay shrugged, "It wasn't difficult...You just weren't paying attention, and we used that the same way a pickpocket would...Which is cool, because he's a thief, and I'm the guy who would see his hand before it reached my pocket..." he answered.

"So, what happened? You get a good outfit?" Anna asked.

Jay nodded, "Yes...After consideration, Samuel suggested I try on his suit...It fit well...So I got one that was about the same, and just had it taken in a little...It's ready though. What've you all been up to, other than expressing distaste in Ms. Schnee?" he asked.

"Oh, just ignoring all our responsibilities..." The twins said together. Both Anna and Sasha nodded and shrugged in agreement.

"Well actually, we have to go into town and get a dress for Anna, so that's a thing...I've got one, but I don't have a second...And my dresses would be too big for her, I think..." Sasha said, glancing over Anna.

Anna sighed, ears twitching, "I...Don't have many dresses...My family bought them for me, but...They had...Terrible taste...None of them would be...Uh...Suitable for this event...They're all mostly Sunday dresses with stupid floral designs and bright colors...Not formal-dance dresses...So yeah...I have to get a new one..." she said, shrugging and looking to Sasha.

"You know, if you wanted, you could also wear a suit...We're sure you'd look great in that too." the twins said together.

Jay nodded, "Yes, this is also most certainly an option. Wear what you feel most comfortable in." he said.

Anna giggled and sighed again, "Thanks, but I think I'll stick with a dress...Thank you though, guys...I'd look damn good in a suit, wouldn't I..." she said, putting her hand to her chin and imagining it.

Jay put his hand to his chin and imagining it as well, "Most certainly..." he agreed. They both nodded together.

“Well…We'll head into town then and get it later today…” Sasha said, looking back and forth between Jay and Anna, who both remained in their imagination. Everyone was nearly dead silent for a minute, watching the two of them. After a minute, Nick shared a glance with Sasha and they both cleared their throats at the same time. Both Anna and Jay came out of their heads, looking to Nick and Sasha, wondering what they wanted.

“…Like I said, we’ll uh…Go into town and…Get you a dress later…” Sasha repeated.

“Oh, that may take longer than you think it will…The highways are all closed down after a…An incident with an Elysium toy that was found destroyed under the highway…” Jay explained.

Nick nodded, “Oh yeah, that’s right…Traffic was blocked back on almost every road…And there wasn't a single damn cab available, so…Yeah…You're gonna be walking…And it might take a long time to get from the airfield to any tailor or clothing parlor…Just so you know…” Nick continued.

“Wait wait wait…An Elysium toy? What would a toy do? What happened?” the twins asked together.

“An Elysium Paladin…I called it a toy because…Well…It was wrecked…A bunch of witnesses’ sight an uh…” Jay paused, gesturing to team RWBY, who was still talking to the two foreign boys…“A chick on a motorcycle with…A boy with a large gun…A girl dressed all in white…And a couple of Faunus jumping car to car to get away from it…” Jay said, gesturing to each of them people present in turn, even including the two foreign boys. “It chased them down the highway until it pretty much tripped and fell off…Where it was…Completely destroyed…Presumably by the team who was spotted running away from it…” he finished.

“Hahahaha…A toy indeed…A several hundred thousand dollar war machine, trashed by a team of first years? Isn't that a slap in ol’ Ironwood’s face…He thinks his little machines are so much better than us, but then his greatest mech gets crushed to bits by four first-year Huntresses-to-be…Ha…That’s funny as fuck…He’s probably **seething** at the thought of that…” Nick said, shaking his head and thinking about it.

"Well either way, that's what happened...So...Yeah...You're going to have a hard time getting around..." Jay continued, glancing from his partner to his classmates sitting at the table.

"Well...Uh...Guess we uh...Better go now..." Sasha thought out loud, looking towards Anna. Anna nodded a few times and immediately stood, as did Sasha. They both turned and nodded to their fellow students before rushing from the hall.

Nick and Jay took a seat, Jay sitting in Sasha's seat next to the twins, and Nick sitting in Anna's seat next to Jay. There was silence between the four of them as they watched Yang Xiao Long walk from the hall, and the others return to work. The team leader, Ruby Rose, got up a little lazily, after persistent and pestilent demand from the Schnee heiress. She walked around offering her help, but was still clearly dismayed about something, as she walked slowly and hung her arms lazily, slumping over as she walked. The two boys, one with orange goggles on his forehead, and the other with a shirt that showed off his abs, went about assisting the two ladies. Suddenly, from the far end of the table, the the four of them heard a squeal from Tia.

"I can't wait for tomorrow night...You guys will finally get to meet Sid...It's gonna be so damn fun..." she muttered to herself, swinging her feet and smiling.

"Uh huh...So what school does she come from? What type of weapon does she use?" Nick asked idly. Everyone was looking at Tia now, who frowned and raised an eyebrow.

"What school...What wea- OH!! She's not a huntress in training...She's one hundred percent civilian..." Tia explained. Everyone was silent for a minute, all with their eyebrows raised in evident surprise as they took this in. "What?..." Tia asked.

"Nothing...We just thought she was a huntress...We apologize for our assumption, but...You said she came from Vacuo? That's a...Not as kind a place as Vale...And she's in Vale for the Tournament, you said...So...We just...Kinda..." Jay trailed off, not knowing how to finish that sentence.

"No no, I understand...I can see how you made that jump...That's...Not an unreasonable assumption to make...But yeah...She came to watch...We met when she came into Vale...She's been for like...Three months or so..." Tia said, looking at each of the boys present in turn.

"Three months?...How did we not hear about this girl earlier..." Nick wondered out loud.

Tia shrugged, "She just...Never came up...And besides, I don't really have to share any of my personal life, do I? That ain't a requirement..." she retorted. Everyone pursed their lips, nodding to themselves and muttering apologies.

"Well that's nice...Chris, we all wish you good luck in finding a good guy to snatch up at this dance..." Jay said, nodding towards him.

Chris simply nodded to him in thanks. Everyone stopped their conversation, however, when the Schnee heiress marched over to their table and stood with her arms crossed over her chest. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence as the girls blue eyes glared them all down.

"Can we uh...Can we help you, Ms?" Nick said first.

Her eyes turned to Nick, narrowing a little, "I'm sure your conversation is very entertaining and all, but we're trying to prepare for a formal event here. So if you're not going to remove yourselves from the ballroom, I suggest you start being helpful." she said angrily. The twins were immediately overtaken by a bout of laughter, which they tried to contain by choking it back, but didn't succeed. The heiress tried to turn her deathly gaze towards them but it only made them giggle more furiously. Nick and Jay both smiled at the sight of the twins giggling at an angry Weiss Schnee.

Nick shook his head, smiling and standing up, "No no, come on guys, she's serious, we'd uh...We'd better just...Ok, hold on..." he said. He too was chuckling lightly, shaking his head and trying to control it. "Alright alright, come on...Let's go...It's near lunch time anyway...Let's go get something to eat..." he said. Chris and Tia stood, as did Jay after them. As they walked out of the hall, Weiss staring angrily after them, Jay paused and glanced back, eyes turning crimson and gold for a second. Nick stopped and looked back, wide eyed, knowing what was about to happen...And yet despite seeing it coming...He intentionally did absolutely nothing to stop it.

"........The amount of white you chose to use is in very bad taste..." he muttered simply. The heiress' face was the very image of shock at these words. Nick, immediately upon Jay's finishing, leapt back and snatched the back of Jay's coat, dragging him quickly out of the hall behind him as Ms. Schnee's shock turned to anger. Jay, having come to anticipate his friends' attempts to control his outbursts, did nothing to stop it, and simply kept himself from falling over as he, Nick, and the twins scurried from the ballroom.

* * *

 

The fountain was the only noise in the courtyard as Jay, Chris, Nick, Sam, and Rachel sat patiently, waiting for the remaining team members to arrive. Sam wore a navy blue suit with a black tie and black loafers. Rachel's dress was a silvery gray color, with a shoulderless top and a skirt with a lace layer over it that went down to her knees. The top also had darker gray vine patterns over it, and she wore a headband to keep her hair back. Nick wore a suit that he'd only brought out and dusted yesterday. How it still fit was a wonder, but it wasn't just for show. His suit was filled with flat pockets and pouches that were designed to stretch and hold plenty. It was a suit he had tailored for jobs that involved social gatherings of grandeur that would serve the purposes of a thief. Jay's suit looked similar to Sam's, but with a few differences he'd had done to it. For one, his suit was black rather than navy blue. Two, the coat was longer, with sleeves that widened towards his hands, and only had three buttons over his chest, so it resembled his own black combat coat. He and Nick wore their sneakers as they preferred to. Chris's suit was more bright, sporting sky blue borders sewn onto every hem, and a deep blue tie over a suit that was a noticeably lighter than navy.

"You haven't med Sid either, then?" Nick asked, continuing their conversation about Tia's supposed date.

Sam shook his head along with Rachel, "Nope...The only one who has is Chris..." he answered. Sam and Rachel were sitting on the edge of the fountain together, while Jay and Nick stood waiting.

"Well, what's she like then?" Jay asked, turning to Chris. Chris made a motion as though zipping his lips together, shaking his head.

"He hasn't told us anything, either..." Rachel muttered, only loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Sorry...Can't...Tia made me promise." he said quickly, shaking his head and taking another lap around the fountain, as he'd been doing for the past few minutes, jumping deftly over Sam and Rachel everytime he came up to them. Sam and Rachel, knowing full well how agile he was, didn't even flinch at all.

"Well then...I suppose we'll just have to wait and see." Jay said, nodding and crossing his arms.

"What are we waiting for?" Sasha asked as she and Anna joined the group. Both Nick and Jay were suddenly struck with silence as they looked over the two girls. Neither realized that their jaws had dropped, but then, how would they. Sasha wore a long, pine green dress that went down to her ankles, barely brushing the ground behind her. The belt she wore around her waist had a white floral vine design on it, and the single strap over her right shoulder had a similar white floral vine design over it. Her hair was up in a ponytail, as she liked it. Anna's dress was pitch black, and completely shoulderless, with a skirt that had tier like layering, only down to her knees. Like Sasha, she wore eyeliner that made her pupils shine ever more brighter in the light. Neither Jay nor Nick realized that a good two minutes went by while they stood wide eyed. Sasha and Anna, both pleased with the effects of their appearance, simply stood and let this go on until Sam cleared his throat. Both Jay and Nick immediately began stammering to say something, unsure of how to describe what they were thinking.

"I uh...Y-you look...Uh...I...Um...H-how can I put this...You look like...A...Perfect...A-angelic...Uh...Earthly...Uh, y-you know, the green...Uh...You're like...An angel of the earth..." Nick stammered, finally managing to say something.

Jay, who was still staring at Anna, had been opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds now, paying zero attention to anything but Anna, "You look...Divine... I've never been a religious man...But I've heard it said that divine encounters have made believers of the most avid sceptics...If that's truly possible...Then I would think you're a goddess put upon the earth..." he said, blushing but keeping as straight a face as he could manage.

Sasha and Anna glanced at eachother, "Do we approve?" Sasha asked Anna in idle teasing.

Anna, who was still bright red from Jay's words, shrugged, smiling at the tease, "Yeah, I guess...There was certainly personality in those compliments...So yes. We approve." she said, nodding to Jay. Nick and Jay, who were both still smiling, let out a sigh of relief that they didn't know they were holding in. Sasha immediately stepped forward next to Nick, putting one arm over his shoulder. Jay put forth one of his hands for Anna to take before she stepped close to him. Sam and Rachel had both stood up, and Chris was still standing on the edge of the fountain.

"So...I guess we're just waiting for Tia and her...Sid?..." Sasha asked.

Chris shook his head, "Actually, she and Sid are already inside at the dance..." he answered.

"Then what are we waiting for...Let's go..." Sasha went on.

Jay and Anna kept their hands laced, Nick and Sasha kept their arms over eachother's shoulder, and Sam linked his arm with Rachels as they walked towards the dance. Chris ran off ahead of them to warn his sister...When the group came to the door, they were greeted by Yang Xiao Long of team RWBY, who wore a simple white dress with a strap that laced around the back of her neck.

She smiled brightly at the group, "Welcome!! Well don't you kids look ready for a fine night together...Have fun...In any way you please..." she said with a wink, typing away on her scroll for a few seconds. Suddenly, Chris appeared to the right of Yang, smiling and waving his hands frantically for everyone to follow him. He led them through the crowd, happily pushing aside people who were in the way of the group and leading them over to the same corner of the room where he and the others sat yesterday as the party was being prepared where Tia and Sid sat.

Tia had a sky blue dress on with a shin length skirt. The top piece was a wrap around with a blue jaded top, and cross back straps, but wore no makeup. The girl next to her had hair that was almost maroon red, and was cut even shorter than Tia's hair. She had bright eyes that looked both green and brown in the light, and had very pale skin, with no freckles. Instead of a dress, the girl that sat next to Tia wore a suit, and had three rings in her right ear. Her coat was reddish purple, and had bright red hemming, with a sky blue bowtie.

"Hi everyone...Tia's told me alot of things about you..." she smiled and put her hand to her chin, narrowing her eyes with one eyebrow raised, looking around at the group. "Hm...Alright...So...Well, I already know you, Chris..." she looked around at the present students, trying to recall who was who. "Alright alright, I totally got this. You're Rachel...Long brown hair, silent lookin', has to be you. That makes you Samuel...Dark tan skin, nice looking guy who's all smiley...Alright...So...Uh...Oh yeah, metal arm, really tall, black hair...You're...Uh...N-...Nick, right?" she said.

Nick nodded as confirmation, "Alright, you got it so far..." he said.

She nodded, "Ok...So...Purple haired cat faunus, kinda shy lookin' chick is definitely Anna...I remember that...That means the arrogant lookin' ginger in glasses and a long coat is Jay...Simple name, easy to remember..." she went on. Jay simply nodded in acknowledgement. "And that means the tall amazoness blonde that could snap a house in two is Sasha..." she finished.

"She's fun, I like her..." Sasha said quickly.

Tia chuckled and put her palm to the table suddenly, "Alright guys, sit down, let's enjoy company..." she demanded. Everyone began to sit down before Jay, Nick, Chris, and Sam stopped suddenly.

"We can't just sit down and at a social gathering without drinks. We'll be right back with that...Wait up..." Sam said with a bright smile. The girls watched them head off towards another table and all turned their attentions back to the table.

"So this is...Actually...Kinda nice...I like this...Sitting at a table with my friends...Just...Interacting with eachother..." Anna said, looking around with a smile.

"Agreed...It's not terrible when you're around friends...Even though...Other people uh...Kinda...Happen...But it's much easier to deal with...With friends..." Rachel said silently, arms crossed on the table, nudging Anna's arm from her seat.

"Hey Sid, how's Vale treating you..." Sasha asked, gesturing to her.

"Well...It's a nice change from Vacuo, I can tell you...Seems friendlier...And there's the perk of, well, you know, girls like Tia...And it's...Nice to have a girlfriend like her...So it's better...I mean, back home, my father works all the time, even though he does everything he can for me...And my mother's uh...Well she's been in the hospital for several years...So it feels even better to be able to test my independance and check out a new kingdom..." Sid explained.

"May we inquire as to what has put your mother in the hospital?" Jay said, having returned with the others. Jay set down two drinks for he and Anna, and removed a tray from atop his head, where he'd had it balanced to carry it. Sam put down two drinks as well for himself and Rachel, as did Chris for Tia and Sid. Nick put down two drinks and a small bowl next to the tray, which held a large number of chips, with the bowl, which was divided in two by an insert, had both sour cream and guacamole.

"Oh yeah, that's fine...She has spinal cancer...It's pretty...Serious...And it's gotten to the point where it's pretty much bed ridden her completely, so...My dad's been doing everything he can to keep up with the medical bills and support me as well...So I've been learning to get along and help out...I found easy work as a hand on the airships, and saved up for the trip to Vale for almost a year...And it was worth it, I think...Vale is pretty incredible...Although there's some pretty serious faunus discrimination around here, isn't there..." she finished, lowering her voice to a whisper. Everyone nodded in silent agreement, each kinda wishing it wasn't the case.

"Yeah, but we plan to change it...And hey, at least you're not discriminatory, are you?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sid's eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously, "Oh no...No no no no no...I don't think like that..." she said.

Anna chuckled, "That'd be pretty strange if she  **was** discriminatory, seeing as she herself is faunus..." Anna said, giggling.

Sam, Rachel, and Sasha all looked very confused for a few seconds, "Wait...What?!" Sasha exclaimed.

Sid chuckled and ran her fingers through her hair, "Haha, yeah, did I forget to mention that?" she said, she put her arm forward on the table and pulled her sleeve back to reveal her forearm up to her elbow, which was decorated with black, brown, and yellowish python scales. She put her sleeve down and gestured to her face, "And if my makeup wasn't waterproof and made with earth dust, you'd also be able to see similar scales around the bottom half of my eyes...Which, speaking of, also tend to look like a serpent's when uh...I'm like...Stressed and shit...So uh...Y-yeah...I mean, I know people are discriminating against faunus, but for some reason...They have a particular distaste towards Serpent faunus...I mean with the whole 'snakes are evil' type of thing, which I don't really get, but...It's a thing...So..." she said, shrugging and taking another chip from the tray, which everyone had been silently snacking on.

"How were you surprised by this, Sasha?" Jay said, glancing over at her as he took another chip as well.

"Hey, shut up...I know it's easy for you to see things like that, bright eyes, and same for Anna since she's also a faunus, but the rest of us aren't all-seeing." she retorted.

Sid pointed from Sasha to Jay, "You two seem...Aggressive towards eachother...Like...Some fuckin'...Sibling rivalry type o' shit, what's that about..." she asked.

Jay shrugged, "Bad blood...I shattered her jaw, she put me in a wheelchair...If we weren't hunters in training, and if it weren't for dust medicine, neither of us would have recovered enough to continue..." Jay answered.

"The uh...The wheelchair seems like the worse of the two..." Sid said in consideration.

"Well now, she can only manage a tie against me, even with her boyfriend, so I don't really feel much shame..." Jay explained.

"Her boyfriend beiiiiiiiing you?" she said, pointing at Nick, raising an eyebrow.

Nick nodded, "The first time we really met was when she beheaded a giant griffon in the forever fall, and I kinda knew then that she was the girl for me..." he said.

"And I realized that he was a special guy to me when he stopped a death-strike by an ice crazy bitch in that very same forest..." Sasha said with a smile, putting her arm around Nick's shoulder, who put his arm around her as well.

Sid nodded, "Alright, and I've heard all about you two...You had an insanely bad family life and you just didn't get along with just about anyone..." she said, pointing now to Samuel and Rachel. "Oh, uh...S-sorry if I sound insensitive about it...I mean I've only heard...What Tia's told me...And want to make sure I have it straight..." she said, frowning.

Sam shook his head, "No, it's ok...You're right...But it's no problem anymore...I mean I don't use a last name as a sign of leavin' that in the past, so it's ok..." he said with a shrug.

Sid nodded, "And I bet that means...You two are also a couple..." she said, pointing to Jay and Anna, who also both nodded.

"Well uh...We killed someone who bullied Anna...And then she brought me down from a bit of a trip by almost killing me...But...Wow, that sounded really bad, but it isn't as bad as it seems..." Jay tried to explain.

"Yeah, really it's more like...He saw a few things that...No one else saw...And has been the only one to try and help me change them...And besides, he's also a big nerd with adorable freckles, which is really cute..." she said smiling, leaning over and kissing Jay's cheek.

"Awww, that's cute as fuck!!!" Sid exclaimed, smiling brightly. Nick and Sasha both nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of family..." Tia said suddenly, gesturing behind to the tall brunette who'd just walked up.

"Mickey? What's up?" Sam asked, everyone turning.

Mickey chuckled, crossing her arms, "You guys took a whole tray of chips  **and** a full dip bowl? Wow..." she said, shaking her head but still smirking.

"Yes yes, we're sinners, sue us. Continue, please..." Jay said in a facetious tone.

"One, you guys like...Missed this epic fuckin' dance number by Team JNPR...That shit was crazy...But more importantly...Sorry I gotta do this, but I need you guys to find Chris and come with me...We need to talk about somethin'..." she said, clapping her hands together and rubbing her palms.

"Oh, ok...Uh...Where  **is** Chris..." Sam asked himself. Everyone looked around the room, including Mickey.

"Present!! I'm here!!" Chris said loudly as he dashed up next to Mickey, "I'm here...Sorry, I was just...Uh...Talking with someone...What's happening?..." he asked, looking around.

"Talking to someone?...You gotta be kidding me...There is  **no way** you're that fast..." Sasha said in surprise.

Chris chuckled and smirked confidently, pulling back his sleeve and revealing a line of digits, "You tell me...Not that fast, indeed...I fuckin' told you..." Sasha's jaw dropped at the sight of the digits on his arm.

"Ok, yeah, that's actually pretty impressive..." Mickey said, nodding with approval. "Anyway...Let's get go- Who are you?..." she said suddenly, pointing to Sid.

"O-oh, uh...I'm...Tia's girlfriend...I'm just a civilian though, so uh...I'll uh..." she started to stand, but Tia grabbed her arm and made a pouty lip at Mickey.

Mickey groaned and sighed, "Alright...What I'm gonna talk to you guys about isn't exactly classified...But just...Don't tell anyone about it, ok kid?" Mickey asked. Sid nodded a few times and raised her right hand, using her left to make a motion of drawing an X over her chest, then made a motion of zipping her lips together.

Mickey shrugged, then nodded, "Eh, that'll do, let's go." she insisted immediately.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> ATTENTION. FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO SEE THE ARTWORK, UNFORTUNATELY, AT THE REQUEST OF OUR ARTIST, IT HAS BEEN REMOVED FOR THE TIME BEING. I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF/WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO REPOST THE ART. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.


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